They're Just Like US: Bonobos

I love bonobos, chimpanzees... yes, even Paul Frank monkey faces. We can learn so much about humans from studying these creatures. Read this New Yorker article by Ian Parker.

I Wish My Landlord Was Expected to Give Me Gifts

"On the streets of Shanghai, the author's injured foot attracts less attention than her pet dog, still a rare sight in the city."

This article on a New Yorker's move to Shanghai really drew me in today...

"Settling Down in a City in Motion" - Emily Prager, NY Times, 7/19/07

Some excerpts:

*WHEN you rent a place in Shanghai, the landlord gives you presents. This is a terrific shock for a New Yorker. My agent told me I could ask for special furniture, TVs, gym memberships — the landlady would actually take me shopping.

*I went to buy some string one day and the man cut me a 12-inch piece. People buy only as much as they need. They do not hoard and their homes are not full of items they never use.

*It is against the law to walk a dog in the city between 7 in the morning and 7 at night... Pets are new to Chinese people and they don’t know very much about them.

*...There is a grace about living here that I love. People do things here that machines do in America.

He Reads The Bible AND The Qur'an Everyday

AND he doesn't take any old beat the African-American JC tosses him:

Pitchfork interview with Common: "Common Talks New Album, Gap Ad, Spirituality"

Nikki My Yoga Instructor Likes Good Music

She played this song in class today, and I really like it and had to ask her what it was. It was "I've Been Thinking" by Handsome Boy Modeling School (featuring Cat Power). Gotta love the group name, and the album it's from is called White People, even though there are two non-white dudes on the cover. Ha. I'm going to have to look into more of this group's songs. I also like "The Truth" so far.

p.s. Sometimes there's just nothing better than a good, hard, sweaty........Vinyasa yoga class. For real. Try it.

Sorry

Sorry it has been so long since I posted... I don't know where the past 2 weeks have gone. I was out of town for part of it, saying goodbye to dear friends/newlyweds, saying welcome to my sister who just moved to NYC and started her first "real" job, visiting with a childhood friend who was in town briefly, and, of course, manically working on my dissertation study.

Since this is a mostly music blog, what has been musically notable (haha that's almost a bad pun) in my life in the past couple weeks?
1. A fun impromptu "DJ Charlie & Me" set late night Sat/Sun. We pulled our gracious little audience back through time via such gems as "Put It In Your Mouth", "Informer", "Push It", "California Love", "It Takes Two" & "Poison" ... we also had some crowd members tragically attempting to replicate the MC Hammer dance, the Kid N Play, NKOTB's Hanging Tough video ... (okay, okay... me included)
2. I have been trying really hard to love the new Kelly Clarkson album, but I would say I like 1/3 of it. (I still love Kelly regardless).
3. I have been effortlessly loving the new Patrick Wolf album, The Magic Position & a lot of the new Spoon album. Patrick Wolf's new album is kind of like Sufjan Stevens meets Tahiti 80, with a heavy spot of New Wave. And I was never a huge Duran Duran/Depeche Mode (the vocals were too melodramatically damp in my ear or something), but I really love this Patrick Wolf album. There are parts that definitely border happy bop bop, so maybe even my dear husband will like it (check out "Get Lost" & the title track). Listen to "The Underdog" and "Finer Feelings" from Spoon's Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga - you'll want the whole album.

Poor Jane

A Women’s Magazine That Tried to Be Otherwise - NYTimes, 7/12/2007

I'm very sad about Jane folding -- it was a good women's magazine that fit my sensibilities. Jane had a brain, ambition, and a great independent sense of self, but she wasn't a feminazi either. I will misss Jane.